VanFoodies.com

Where have you been so far for Dine Out Vancouver? I was quite excited to see The Rise Eatery on the list. Last year they did their own prix fixe menu for $30 and I took Mama Lam and Papa Lam there. It was a good deal and we really enjoyed the food. This year, it’s $35 and I still think it’s a solid menu; I had them on my list of recommendations. So when I got the invite to preview their menu, yes all the way!

Food

Brilliant as ever, the menu is a page of food puns. Let’s go over it one by one.

Chicken Seoul Good – as suggested, this is Korean style fried chicken, but with a twist of a mushroom gravy. The chicken was crispy and moist, and the scent of truffle can be smelled from miles away.

A Curve Ball is a vegan dish. They make their vegan cheese in house, with the texture and flavour of feta cheese, but it melts into the risotto ball when deep fried. This was actually really good. The exterior of the arancini was crispy and the sauces brought the much needed acidity. I especially enjoyed it with the spicy masala pumpkin seed romesco sauce.

If you follow at least one popular foodies on IG, you would’ve heard of The Rise’s Uni-Versal Pasta. It’s squid ink pasta with sea urchin cream, topped with an egg yolk. It’s like their version of a mentaiko pasta. It’s rich and creamy, with just the hint of umami fishy seafood flavours. This one was topped with house XO sauce sautéed prawns and the XO sauce was very flavourful without bringing too much heat.

As with the appetizer option, they have a vegan entree called Golly Squash. The kabocha squash (aka Japanese pumpkin) was slow roasted to perfect tenderness, topped with sautéed kale & medley of mushrooms, smoked marinara, pepita pesto and crispy tempeh. This is also gluten free. It’s substantial without being over-filling. While this was a solid entree and I enjoyed this dish (I’m a big fan of kabocha), I wasn’t as blown away as I was with the arancini in appetizer. I thought the tempeh was a bit dry for texture. 

You can’t go wrong with a classic steak frite. The Fryday Meat-up includes a 7oz sterling flat iron steak and fries. The steak was cooked to perfect medium, and the meat was very tender. The steak was lightly seasoned, but the use of togarashi compound butter added richness and just a hint of spice to the steak. I may just steal this idea for the next time we cook a steak at home. I was worried the miso in the gravy may be overpowering but it wasn’t the case.

Besides the uni pasta, the Ode to Adobo was my favourite entree. It’s duck leg confit marinated in a wet adobo sauce, instead of the traditional dry seasoning in a confit. The duck was succulent, melt in your mouth tender. The Filipino sausage & edamame cassoulet and pomme puree was great accompaniment. I’m not going to lie, this is a rich dish; but it’s so rich and hearty that I felt so satisfied afterwards.

Onto dessert, I was no stranger to Luv U So Matcha as it was featured last year as well. It’s a matcha green tea cheese tart. The size was a bit small but I like that it’s served warm. The crust was buttery and the cream cheese was well balanced. Matcha flavour was prominent so matcha fan would like this.

Last but not least, Care-a-mel About U is a salted caramel crème brûlée. The texture of the creme brulee was just right and the salted caramel flavour gave this classic a decadent note. The brulee top was a perfect crack on a spoon. I like the addition of pecan praline and brown butter quinoa crumble as crunchy elements.

The Rise also has an interesting cocktail menu with more cheeky names. For example, they have a Lolliwood North that has a cranberry, orange and mango popsicle sitting in a glass. Or the Castaway in a pretty shade of blue with a message in a bottle.

Final Thoughts

Food puns aside, I also loved their food. A year later, I was equally impressed with the quality of their cooking. $35 is good value for money when it comes to Dine Out and I would suggest checking The Rise out. I would recommend the combo of A Curve Ball + Ode to Adobe / Uni-Versal Pasta + Care-a-mel About U.

Disclosure: This meal was provided to me complimentary of the restaurant. However, opinions expressed in this post are entirely of my own.

The Rise Eatery
3121 Granville Street, Vancouver
604-559-8280
theriseeatery.com